Research carried out by AJ Bell reveals advisers saw a substantial increase in the number of gilt-related queries from clients in 2023, when compared with the previous year.
More than half of advisers (51%) received a greater volume of gilt queries, with two fifths (41%) saying they did not see an increase and 7% stating that the number of queries throughout the year remained the same. On top of this, almost a quarter stated they were ‘more likely’ to use gilts directly in 2024.
At the time of writing, the UK 10-year gilt yield stands at just over 4%, with the 2-year gilt yield coming in at around 4.6%. Short-dated gilts proved popular with advisers and their clients on the Investcentre platform in 2023, with two of the top 10 investments being short-dated gilts, including the number one spot.
AJ Bell launched online gilt trading on its advised Investcentre channel last week, making it easier for advisers to facilitate this increased demand from clients.
*Based on a survey of 243 financial advisers using the AJ Bell Investcentre platform, carried out between 4-19 January 2024.
| AJ Bell Investcentre top 10 investments (2023) |
| HM TREASURY GILT 0.25% (31/01/25) |
| MGTS QUALIS FUND MGTS QUALIS GROWTH I ACC |
| INSTITUTIONAL CASH SERIES PLC BLACKROCK ICS STG LQDTY PREM GBP ACC |
| LEGAL & GENERAL(UNIT TRUST MGRS)LTD LEGAL & GENERAL INTL INDEX TRUST C ACC |
| BLACKROCK FUND MANAGERS LTD ISHARES ESG OSEAS CORP BD IDX S GBP ACC |
| HM TREASURY GILT 0.125% (31/01/24) |
| HSBC ETFS PLC MSCI EMERGING MARKETS UCITS ETF |
| VANGUARD INV LIFESTRATEGY 80% EQTY ACC |
| INVESCO MARKETS II PLC GLOBAL HY CORP ESG GBP PFHDG DIST |
| VANGUARD FUNDS PLC S&P 500 UCITS E T F INC NAV GBP |
Source: AJ Bell Investcentre, 1 January – 31 December 2023, based on net flows and excluding AJ Bell funds.
Mark Rendle, AJ Bell Investcentre product director, comments:
“In the past year, we have seen a substantial increase in gilt holdings on the platform, which shows how quickly advisers are adapting to meet the needs of customers as the economic environment changes.
“The fact over half of advisers saw an increase in the number of gilt-related queries in 2023, with a quarter stating that they were more likely to use gilts going forward, shows this trend isn’t going anywhere soon.
“Making gilt dealing available online to advisers should improve ease of access to this important asset class at a time when advisers expect gilt usage to increase.”
